Stumble
by Dawn Rune
Summary: MAIKO; Zuko isn’t happy while he’s in the Fire Nation, so he is on the hunt for the perfect distraction from his misery. Who would have guessed that some moody girl would be the ticket to his, well, not wallowing in misery so much?


**STUMBLE**; Story by Risa

**Warning:** Spoilers for the earlier part of Book 3. My sense of humor is mean. Zuko sucks at women.

**Summary:** MAIKO; Zuko isn't happy while he's in the Fire Nation, so he is on the hunt for the perfect distraction from his misery. Who would have guessed that some moody girl would be the ticket to his, well, not wallowing in misery so much.

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It was the crack of dawn, and quite unlike any other moody teenager of the Fire Nation fueled on rage, misery, and donuts, Prince Zuko was wide awake. He'd spent the earlier part night dreaming of how he'd betrayed his uncle (though it was totally the other way around, he consistently failed to convince himself) then unable to get anymore sleep, he picked himself up out of his bed and headed toward the one secluded training area in the palace, where he intended to wear himself down to the bone training. A whole hell of a lot of good that did, because when he was done completely flooring himself in target practice and hot squats, he felt more wired than ever before, and his uncle still wouldn't leave his mind.

So he proceeded back to his room, which fortunately remained untouched in his long absence from the Fire Nation, seeing as he had a secret journal laying under a floorboard somewhere. He was surprised to find that it remained untouched; there were plenty of things in there Azula would have had a field day with (she was a big fan of blackmail.) The nickname 'Zuzu' was embarrassing enough for one lifetime, kay thanks, but anyway. Zuko fished his journal out from under the floor, unhappy to see it slightly chewed by rat roaches (if his dad invested more funds in maids than wars, they wouldn't have any infestation problems) but ah heck. He was glad to have his journal, so he proceeded to write a page for the first time in two years about how awesome and right he was, and how everyone else sucked. Especially his uncle.

When he got to about the thirtieth thing Iroh did right, as opposed to wrong, he gave up and burned the journal in the palm of his hand. Couldn't have the Fire Nation thinking of him as some sort of lowly traitor, which he wasn't. He was a good and loyal son, totally fit to take this nation into his own hands one day. With him in charge, rat roaches would go extinct, and his sister would be forced into therapy, but that wasn't for awhile yet.

Deciding that training and writing wasn't going to help, Zuko contemplated the idea of visiting his uncle in prison for a moment, and then shook the thought from his head. No way! He had just regained his honor. He didn't need to sully the happiest time of his life with that crap.

But if he was so happy, why was it three in the morning, and why couldn't he sleep? Well, because. He wasn't well, or something. All that tea he and uncle prepared and drank gave him… brain… fungus, or something. Zuko attempted sleep the last two hours before sunrise, to absolutely no avail. Was there nothing to take his mind off of his life sucking? By his crown, he would find something, anything to distract him from whatever was wrong with him. This was the way things should be, and Zuko wasn't going to let his haywire feelings get in the way of his destiny.

So when a strip of dawn light spilled over the mountains, Zuko was dressed and out the door, on a mission to find the perfect distraction from his insomnia-laden misery. No time like the present, though nothing happened this early in the morning. Nothing at all. Fire benders generally weren't big fans of nighttime, or early morning, seeing as the sun wasn't there, so they were notorious for sleeping in. Most of the people you'd see out this early were civilians and farmers and stuff. Zuko wasn't all that interested in people. It was a given that he should be concerned with his nation's welfare, but as for personal interaction, he preferred to avoid it. There was something in solitude that was just so… personal. He could be his own person when alone.

Little did he know that a little personal interaction was just the distraction he needed; Zuko was a silly boy sometimes. In being a silly boy, he often stumbled through life and appeared a damn fool in front of others (you know, everyone) so he was afraid of accepting any foreign companionship.

That was, until he approached some field with a large tree at the start of it, where he stood. Weeds rustled in the wind, ant flies chirped awake, and there was a girl sitting in the middle of it, sighing. Now, Zuko knew this girl, but didn't really know her. She was just one of Azula's wicked little cronies, whose sole purpose was to kiss his sister's feet, and look slightly inferior in battle compared to her, though for a girl who wasn't a fire bender she was pretty darn good. She often looked about as happy as Zuko often felt (which was not at all), and was generally among the people in this world who didn't bother him personally.

Mai, was it? Well, Zuko didn't plan to stick around and find out. Judging by that sigh, she wasn't in a very happy mood. Zuko didn't like to be bothered while in a bad mood, what's more, the idea of someone watching him while he was in a bad mood made him angrier. Well, not that he was angry now, but damn. This was a decent five minute distraction, contemplating this girl. Time to go be miserable somewhere else.

That was, until a rather huge ant fly flew right into his face and startled him. He screamed and fell over. So much for sneaking away, because after a few seconds of flailing and yelling, his eyes flew open and met hers, which didn't look remotely happy. Not that she ever did, but she never reserved a look like _THAT _for him specifically. Heck, he wondered if she ever bothered to look at him. What was her problem anyway?

"It's just a bug, you big baby," said Mai, her voice exasperated as though Zuko had done about a thousand stupid things in front of her. He half expected her to help him up, but when the helping hand was never offered, he just lifted himself off the ground and brushed the weeds and dirt from his clothes. To say the least he was embarrassed, but he wasn't going to make a show of it. It was his job as crowned prince to be composed at all times… except in the face of bugs. All bugs could go straight to hell.

"I am not a baby! Bugs happen to be disgusting," said Zuko. It may have seemed silly, but he wasn't going to take that from anyone, even if this was one of Azula's right-hand ladies. He feared no one.

"Whatever. Thanks for distracting me from the sunrise, jerk."

_Yes, because the sun will _never_ rise again_, Zuko thought with a sneer. Clearly this girl had issues, so he wanted nothing to do with her now. In fact, after all her comments he felt quite like going back to his previous brooding. One thought of Iroh, however, changed his mind about that instantly. As the moody girl wandered off, Zuko wandered off after her, not trying to seem too obvious, but all the same he wanted her attention. She seemed like someone he could spend small amounts of time with, granted she cut the attitude a little. Might as well not let this relationship rot into nothing before it can form into something… or something.

"I'm sorry, OK," said Zuko, but that wasn't enough to get her to stop walking, or even to turn to look at him. She was blatantly trying to ignore him, which made him angry. He wasn't the type of person you just, you know, ignored! "Would you please let it go?"

"I already have. Why don't you leave me alone?" said Mai. "I'm not in the mood for people today."

"I know how that feels," said Zuko. Despite that, he continued to follow her until she reached her house. He wasn't about to follow a girl inside her house without her permission, even if he was a prince. That was just plain rude, and he was only rude when he had to be. He attempted to tell her to have a nice day, but when she slammed the door in his face, he no longer felt like talking to her. Ever. If she was going to be like that, then he was going to find something better to do, like… stuff! He didn't need to take this from some stupid girl, even if she was kind of cute. He especially liked the part where she sighed.

Smacking his forehead, Zuko walked off, determined to find something to take his mind off of Mai now. Just what he needed, more problems in his life. Oh well, at least he was home.

TBC?

**A/N:** The uber short beginning of my foray into the Avatar fandom. This will probably be a multipart fic, if I'm inspired to write more. Recent episodes of Avatar made Maiko my favorite pairing, so. Eee! Anyway, feedback? Pretty please with Oreos on top?


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